This is one of the first games I ever had memories of playing a lot when I was little, mostly because of the easier accessibility, having access on a computer with this installed, instead of a more classic console.

Zapper is a Frogger clone (so much of a clone that even the title is a little too on the nose) starring a cool design for a protegonist: A cricket that uses his antennas to camputer fireflies and emit electricity, solving puzzles and taking down enemies... that is a cool concept even for a pokemon, and I feel his design got stuck in my head for years because of it.

Though in terms of the actual game.... yeah this is kind of a janky Frogger-like experience: short in lenght, a bit too clunky and slow in terms of controls, and wuth a perspective and level design that sometimes doesn't clarify the platforms you can reach and the ones you can't.

Another thing that can be controvertial and stuck with me, is the overall tone of the game: the aesthetics are nice and with kinda unique settings in jungles, ancient temple, wood factories and SPACE (why?), but the game can result a bit too... graphics, surprisingly enough.
Zapper can die in many ways, and most of the time you will see it's corpse chopped in half by an axe, it's skin burned alive or it's body drowning in a kind off disturbing manner..... not to mention that one you defeat enemies you will often see either their interior splattered on the floor or their literal skeletons (even though they are bugs and they shouldn't have one).

Overall I remember having some amount of fun with it: the levels can be nice to navigte and the final boss is a surprisingly fun challenge (even though the final shot of him sees the camera ZOOM INTO HIS MOUTH AND THROAT, MAKING YOU SEE THE WHOLE INTERIOR OF THE BODY AND EXITING FROM HIS BUTT).

Overall I got some nostalgia for this title, but I am not sure I will recommend it today, unless you like the idea of a Frogger game with a more unique tone.

(Also Zapper is a a***ole: he literally uses his younger brother larva as a TV antenna by tying him to the roof of his house..... kind of a stinky bug)

Reviewed on Apr 25, 2024


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